MP3 to WAV Converter

How to convert MP3 to WAV

Three steps, and you choose the format before anything is written.

1. 1

   Drop the MP3

   Drag the MP3 onto the converter or click to browse. M4A, AAC, OGG, FLAC and WAV files work too, as long as your browser can play them. The page reads the length straight away.

2. 2

   Choose the format the destination asks for

   Check what the upload page, editor or phone system wants and match it: 44.1 kHz stereo for music and most editors, 48 kHz for video, 8 kHz mono for many phone systems. Every WAV here is 16-bit PCM.

3. 3

   Check the size, then download

   The converter shows how big the WAV will be before you convert and the real size after. Play it in the preview, then download it with the same name and a .wav ending.

M4A to WAV: iPhone voice memos

The Voice Memos app on iPhone shares recordings as .m4a files. To get a WAV, move the memo to the device you are converting on, then drop it here.

1. 1

   Share the memo as a single file

   In Voice Memos, tap the recording, tap the three dots, then Share. Under Options, choose Rendered: it makes a single .m4a file with any edits mixed in.

2. 2

   Save it where you can reach it

   Pick Save to Files to convert on the iPhone itself, or AirDrop or email it to your computer. The file keeps the memo's name.

3. 3

   Drop the .m4a here

   Choose the sample rate and channels (for a single voice, mono keeps the WAV half the size of stereo) and convert. The WAV keeps the memo's name.

When you need a WAV instead of an MP3

MP3 is the better file for sharing. WAV is the one some software and hardware insist on.

• Phone systems and auto attendants

  Greetings, IVR menus and on-hold messages are often uploaded as WAV at a set format. Many phone systems ask for 8 kHz, 16-bit, mono; some newer ones ask for 16 kHz. Record the greeting, convert it with the phone-system preset, and upload.

• Audio and video editors

  Editors handle uncompressed WAV without decoding it on the fly, and some older or simpler ones import WAV only. Match the project: 48 kHz for video, 44.1 kHz for music.

• Samplers and sample libraries

  Hardware samplers, drum machines and many sample packs work in WAV. Convert a sound to WAV once and load it where MP3 is not accepted.

• Upload forms that list WAV

  Some submission forms, broadcast and radio slots and school or client portals list WAV as the accepted format. Converting gives them the file type they ask for.

Converting MP3 to WAV does not improve the sound

WAV size per minute

16-bit PCM WAV, computed from the format: sample rate × 2 bytes × channels × seconds.

Which sample rate and channels to choose

• 44.1 kHz stereo: music and most editors

  The CD standard and the default here. Most MP3s are 44.1 kHz already, so the WAV matches the source.

• 48 kHz: video

  Video editors work at 48 kHz. Converting to it saves the editor a resample when you drop the audio on the timeline.

• 16 kHz mono: speech

  Clear for a voice, about a fifth of the size of CD-quality stereo, and what some newer phone and voice systems ask for.

• 8 kHz mono: phone systems

  Classic telephone quality. If a phone system's help page asks for 8 kHz, 16-bit, mono WAV, use the phone-system preset.